Dental Assistant vs. Dental Hygienist

Dental assistants and dental hygienists do many of the same things from day to day, such as taking and developing X-rays and teaching patients about proper oral care. But they are not different names for the same job.

Here’s a breakdown of some key differences between dental assistants vs. dental hygienists:

Dental Assistants

Dental Hygienists

Job duties

Prepare patients for treatment, clean instruments and equipment, assist dentists during procedures, help with office management, including billing, record-keeping and insurance paperwork.

Some states require dental assistants to graduate from an accredited program with a certificate or diploma (nine months to a year). Some schools offer two-year associate’s degree dental assisting programs, which include general education classes.

Dental hygienists usually need an associate’s degree (two years) to practice. Other less common options include certificates (a year or less), bachelor’s degree (four years) and master’s degrees (two years). (Years required to complete degree are based on full-time study.)

Licensing / certification

Most dental assistants who choose to become nationally certified take the Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) exam. To take the exam, you need to graduate from an accredited training programor complete two years of full-time work as a dental assistant. More about certification.

Dental hygienists must be licensed by the state where they want to practice. To qualify, you need to graduate from an accredited training program and pass a regional or state clinical exam. More about licensing.

Pay

Median annual salary: $36,940

Median annual salary: $72,910

Job growth

19 percentincrease through 2026

20 percentincrease through 2026

Next Step?

Many dental assistants go back to school to get a dental hygienist degree.

With a bachelor’s or master’s degree, you can move up to research, teaching or clinical practice in public or school health programs.